Posts Tagged: pro choice
Mr. President, Say Hello to Abortion Lovers
In 8 days, the United States of America will call Donald Trump its president. With this monumental new transfer of power comes, for many people, lots of grief, anxiety, and perhaps even excitement. However, for those who have dedicated themselves to fighting for reproductive justice and freedom, the Trump administration brings with it possible feelings of defeat. President-elect Donald Trump has proven through his own words and action that, under his administration, abortion access and abortion providers will be under constant attack. And, while some may have argued that the soon-to-be president lacks the tact to accomplish a full-on attack of reproductive rights, Vice President Mike Pence’s track record proves that reproductive justice organizers have reasons to be afraid. Just months after the election, the Senate voted to repeal the… Read more »
The Anti-Choice Movement’s Harmful Rhetoric
Facts and propaganda are not synonymous with each other. I have felt the need to say that for quite some time given the constant anti-choice rhetoric that neglects to recognize the variety of abortion experiences. The pro-life stance is a position deeply rooted in religion, which highlights life rather than quality of life. Unlike the pro-choice stance which acknowledges a woman’s autonomy, the pro-life uses partial elements of religion and propaganda to erase the experiences that women who consider abortion take, with some of them being taken to drastic levels such as the picture below. Most of the rhetoric that the pro-life movement employs is used to punish women. This concept explores fetal rights vs. the pregnant person’s rights, which is two sets of rights that are granted to one body. An… Read more »
My Premature Birth and Pro-Choice Activism Are Not at Odds
In my final semester of college, I had to make a film. With my degree in sight and 16 years of academic struggle and achievement behind me, I decided to make it about the people who made it all possible: my parents. I told the story of my parents’ decade-long struggle to have a child to the heads of the television and film department at my school, won a grant, and was on a flight home to surprise my parents in no time, camera in hand. After a few weeks’ work, I had this: I posted my little film online frequently, wanting my parents’ story to be seen, wanting to honor them, wanting to thank them. I imagine that pausing my usual stream of statuses and links about reproductive justice… Read more »
Reverse Abortions are Pseudoscience
According to most studies, very few people regret having an abortion. This, however, does not stop unlicensed “crisis pregnancy centers,” staffed by activists (many of whom have no medical training), from proselytizing to people who want to make the decision to have an abortion in a safe environment. Said pregnancy centers often give people false information about abortions, including any of these things published by hopeafterabortion.com. Their lies include: abortions make women “155 percent” more likely to have suicidal behavior and “138 percent” more likely to have mental health problems than “women who have given birth.” Now, one anti-choice physician is claiming that people can reverse the effects of an abortion, without a shred of medical evidence to back it up. According to advocates of “reverse abortion,” all it takes to… Read more »
What I Learned Escorting at an Abortion Clinic
When a friend of mine told me she went “escorting” on weekends I wrongly assumed she meant either she was joking or working nights to pay for college. What she actually meant, I learned, was that she helps escort people into an abortion clinic in town. On Saturday mornings, she will stand in front of a local abortion clinic with a bright orange vest and an umbrella, offering to walk into the clinic with patients. Her job involved calmly talking to the patients, offering to help them into the clinic, asking them about their day, and other things of that nature. This may not seem necessary to some readers, except these patients have to, on a weekly basis, deal with overt and cruel harassment from a crowd of people standing… Read more »
Call It Anti-Choice, Not Pro-Life
I’ve never understood why “pro-choice” and “pro-life” are considered to be opposites. More specifically, I’ve never understood why people are called pro-life when they would be more accurately referred to as anti-abortion or anti-choice. Why? Because a lot of “pro-life” people aren’t even what I’d consider to be pro-life. Breaking the label down, pro-life means that you’re in support of, well, life, just as pro-choice means you’re in support of the right to choose. Making “pro-life” the antithetical adjective to “pro-choice” makes it seem like the two are opposite. But I consider myself to be very much pro-choice and also very much in support of life. By that, I mean that I support the right to live how you should choose to live. The right to a good life. The right… Read more »
7 Documentaries About Abortion You Can Watch Right Now
View image | gettyimages.com Because Women’s Herstory Month is coming to a close and because I am an URGE Student Journalist, I decided to create a list of documentaries about abortion. Some of these films are available on Netflix while the other films can be found on external sites. I for one, believe in the power of films to change perceptions, create new perspectives, and start dialogues. Here they are: 1. After Tiller (Available on iTunes) Directors: Martha Shane and Lana Wilson This film discusses the life and legacy of Dr. Georgia Tiller. Before his assassination in 2009 in Wichita, Kansas, he was one of five people in the United States still performing third-trimester abortions. Furthermore, the documentary examines the lives of women who seek third-term abortions. It also focuses on the… Read more »
Your Pro-Choice Cheat Sheet: How to Respond to Anti-Abortion Arguments
Last week, my school was “lucky” enough to play host to an anti-abortion group called Creating Equal. The group stopped by for two days as part of their annual “justice ride,” in order to spread propaganda and put down the pro-choice movement. Their argument was based on the fact that abortion is “ageism” and the group showed pictures of “abortions,” as well as a video of what an abortion looks like (on a large screen in the middle of campus, no less). When students realized what was happening, they formed a counter-protest, complete with safe spaces to help those who were triggered by the images. Arguments over ethics and the pro-choice movement littered Facebook and one counter-protest participant admitted that an anti-abortionist had her talking in circles. I get it…. Read more »
My Pro-Choice Is About More Than Abortion
Last Friday, I stumbled upon an article originally published by “VICE UK.” The headline, “Being Pro-Choice Isn’t Just About Abortion,” is what drew me in. The article asserts that the pro-choice movement needs to focus on the rights of pregnant and birthing individuals, as well as reproductive rights in general. Author Rebecca Schiller says that, “When we move beyond talking about the choice not to be pregnant (valid and important) to a choice within pregnancy (as valid, as important) the message that women should be guardians of what goes on in their uteruses seems to get lost.” At its root definition, though, the term “pro-choice” means what Rebecca Schiller advocates for. By being pro-choice, you believe in the right for a person to make a decision on their own—whether that… Read more »
